eBay Enterprise sale complete; Zeta takes CRM

eBay has completed the previously announced sale of eBay Enterprise to a consortium consisting of Sterling Partners, Longview Asset Management, and the Innotrac Corporation, a Sterling Partners portfolio company, together in partnership with companies owned by the Permira Funds for $925 million.

The consortium of buyers has separated eBay Enterprise into four distinct businesses:

• Enterprise Operations & Enterprise Technology Services is owned by Sterling Partners
• The Magento Commerce Technologies business is owned by global investment firm, Permira Funds
• The Marketing Solutions business is owned by the Permira Funds in partnership with Banneker Partners
• The CRM division within the Marketing Solutions division of eBay Enterprise – including the email, hosted database, and attribution businesses – was purchased by Zeta Interactive, a data-driven marketing technology company

Phil Guinand, a Principal at Permira, said, “We’re pleased to have completed this highly complex transaction in partnership with the great team at eBay and are excited for the future of these businesses as newly independent companies.”

“This transaction adds to Permira’s proven track record of executing corporate carve-outs and working creatively with major technology companies, such as the separations of Genesys from Alcatel-Lucent and NDS from News Corp.”

This acquisition of the CRM division comes in the wake of Zeta’s recently announced $125 million fundraising round in July 2015, led by Blackstone Group’s GSO Partners. The combined company will service some of the world’s most recognized brands across the highest value verticals that include Retail, Financial Services, Communications, Automotive and Insurance.

“Combining the power of eBay Enterprise’s CRM businesses with Zeta’s highly rated people-based marketing platform is a game changer in the marketplace,” said David A Steinberg, CEO and Co-Founder, Zeta.

“Together, we have an unmatched set of assets and capabilities to help leading brands improve their return on marketing spend across the entire customer journey, both cross-channel and cross-device. We look forward to continuing to work with the eBay Enterprise team and its new owners. We developed a strong working relationship through this process. We are guided by a shared passion to seamlessly transition the business and exceed the expectations of our clients,” he added.